The One
by WannabeWolfe
Summary: Hermione rushes to the DADA classroom without knowing why. What will she find once she gets there?


A/N - I do not own Hermione Granger or Remus Lupin, this is all just for my fun. Please be forewarned, this story is not for those underage and does involve Hermione being intimate with Remus in his werewolf form. I welcome reviews and comments.

Hermione Granger made her way through the corridors as quickly as she dared. She was rushing towards the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom with no good reason except an overwhelming hunch that she was needed. It was only the fact that it would be considered very bad form for the Head Girl to lose points for running through the school that kept her from picking up the pace. Being a war hero didn't give her any free passes either – Harry had found that out the hard way one night when he was caught with Ginny in a dark archway after hours.

Remus Lupin was pacing back and forth in his office. His return to the DADA post was contingent upon Professor Slughorn being able to continually brew a worthwhile Wolfsbane potion. Horace might be a potions master, but he was not up to Severus's old standards, and this month's batch did not seem to be working. Remus did not feel right and that spelt certain doom for his position here at the school, not to mention the danger his fellow professors and his students would be in. He needed to get out of the castle and make his way to the remains of the Shrieking Shack.

Nearly out of breath, Hermione found herself in at the doorway to the DADA classroom. Still uncertain why she was there but unable to fight the urge to proceed, she opened the door and rushed in without looking. Unfortunately, Hermione ran head first into Professor Lupin, who was in turn trying to make his way out of the room.

"Oh, oh, oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to." Hermione exclaimed as she picked herself off of the floor.

"Miss Granger, what are you doing here?" This was not good for him, not good at all. He had no time to spare.

"I don't know, honestly. I just felt this overwhelming urge to come here. That I was needed somehow." Her eyes took in her professor's ragged appearance. He looked even worse than usual and that sparked her concern. "What is wrong, Professor? Is there something I can be of assistance with?"

Seeing Hermione was perhaps the worst thing that could have happened to Remus. Throughout this year, he had felt his hold on his humanity beginning to loosen in her presence. Growls would slip out if one of her friends got too close to her in class, urges to protect her during DADA practicals needed to be suppressed - his inner wolf had taken notice of young Miss Granger and Remus Lupin was doing everything in his power to fight it. Having her here now, with a full moon being to show in the sky and him with a possible faulty Wolfsbane potion was a recipe for disaster.

"Professor?" She reached out and took hold of her Professor's hand. He was lost in thought and being to shake quite a bit. When he looked up at her, Hermione saw his eyes shift from brown to gold. It was at that moment she knew they were both in danger. If he transformed here, the professor would never be allowed to teach at Hogwarts again and she, well she would most likely end up being werewolf dinner.

"You are starting to transform, where can we take you?" Her voice was trembling but she pushed her fear down for the moment.

"The shack", Remus managed to ground out. He was trying to push down the excitement he felt at the tremble in her words and body.

The wards that prevented apparition within the school grounds were working against the couple in this instance and Hermione did not know of another quick way to get him there. Taking in his appearance she knew there was no hope for them to make it, even if they ran the whole way. "There's no time, Professor, we won't make it!"

"Office, seal the door from the outside." Remus was really struggling for control. He had just moments to spare before Miss Granger would be in serious danger. The window in his office was too small for him to climb out of and the office door should be sturdy enough to withstand his attacks, but he wouldn't be able to make it to his there without her help.

Professor Lupin started to hunch over now, his nails and hair growing at an alarming rate. Hermione grabbed him around his waist and pulled them both towards the stairs that would lead up to the office. His grunts and the popping of his bones were growing louder and more frequent as they made their way up the stairs. They were almost to the door when Hermione realized her foot had caught on something. Looking down, she saw Professor Lupin's shoelace caught in the buckle of her shoe. Remus also tried to move to the next step, but was stuck and began to panic. He started to thrash his foot to shake loose what had caught him.

"Professor, your shoe. No, please!" Hermione was already having a difficult time holding him up and she felt her footing begin to give way.

Professor and student tumbled down the stairs. Dazed from hitting her head against the stone floor, Hermione had two thoughts: "I have to protect the rest of the school" and "I'm going to die." Tears swimming in her eyes, She grabbed her wand and sent the strongest locking, barrier and silencing spells she knew at the door. Her vision blurred and the last sight she had before passing out was of a furry head and black snout heading her direction.

Hermione awoke feeling unusually warm. Unsure what sort shape she might be in after the fall down the stairs, she tried to lay as still as possible while lifting her right hand up to check her head for cuts. Her fingers found a sore spot and when she pulled her hand back to check, there was some blood on her fingertips. A soft whine broke the silence and Hermione began to remember her situation and panic. "Oh God, oh no. No, no, no, no, no. This cannot be happening. Please, please, don't let this be happening", her thoughts raced as she attempted to control her breathing. Her ribs and back ached and even the slightest movements might make her shout out in pain. The last thing she wanted was to draw any attention in her weaken state.

The next moment, she felt something rough and wet drag across the cut on her head and her hopes were dashed. Her professor, in werewolf form, was licking her head wound. Gryffindor courage long since used up, Hermione closed her eyes tight and prayed for him to go away.

"_Do not fear, my little one. We will not hurt you_." A voice not her own floated in Hermione's mind. Her heart rate spiked in fear. Was she hallucinating? Perhaps she was still knocked out and this was just a dream. Her heart wasn't sure and continued to pound against her chest.

"_Please calm down so that I can cleanse your wounds_." The voice, Hermione realized, sounded very similar to Professor Lupin. Maybe it's morning and they can have a good laugh over what happened. She forced herself to open her eyes and tried to get her bearings. Turning to where she knew the window to be, Hermione got another bit of bad news. It was still night. Her professor was not talking to her, he was just licking her head and she imagined him speaking. Wonderful.

A paw lightly pressed down on her shoulder, making her lay back down flat on the ground. "_Do not move, my young one. I have not finished tending to you."_

Giving up on her sanity for the moment, Hermione decided to speak back to the voice in her head. "Professor? Is that your voice I hear in my head?"

"_Yes and no. It is our voice, but it is me speaking." _That made no sense to her at all, it had to either Professor Remus or not.

"Who are you? Who is speaking to me right now?" Perhaps if her head hadn't been so rattled in the fall, she might have been able to figure what was going on. For the moment, she had to rely on whatever this voice told her.

"_His friends, they gave me a name. It was acceptable and I adopted it. You can me 'Moony'."_

Hermione gasped at this revelation. She knew that Moony was Professor Lupin's Marauder nickname. "So are you – are you Professor Lupin's werewolf side?" She couldn't even believe she was having this conversation, but she hadn't acted sanely since the moment she got the urge to come to the classroom – why start now?

"_I am a part of him. He tries to deny it, but I will not allow it any longer." _ Moony began push his snout through Hermione's hair, sniffing for more cuts and scrapes to clean. "_Where else do you ache, my little one?"_

Her curiosity prevented her from answering him right away. "How can I hear you in my head?"

"_It is a gift that we have. We can only share it with those that are special."_

"Are you able to read my thoughts? Do I have to speak out loud or-"

Moony cut her off before she was able to finish._ "No, I am not currently able to read your mind. Now, please, my clever one, save your questions and tell me where else you have pain."_

Hermione closed her eyes, took a deep breath and exhaled. She repeated the process and listened to what her body was trying to tell her. "My ribs and back are aching. My arms are not much better. My palms burn and so does my right leg."

"_I do not see or smell any blood near your ribs or your back. Show me your palms now, my young one."_ Her palms were scraped and cut from the fall down the stone staircase. Moony whined once again and began to lick across both of her palms. Although the sensation was strange, it was not unpleasant and with each pass, she felt more trusting and connected to the creature before her.

"You said something about 'special ones' – special how?"

Moony snorted in amusement. He should have known that she would not be able to hold back her questions. "_We have a connection, do you deny it, my little one?"_ The voice sounded smug in her mind, and Hermione swore that Moony looked to be smiling.

She had to admit that this past year, she had found herself in Professor Lupin's company more often than not. Special projects, assisting with grading and tutoring younger students – Hermione had volunteered for all of those and more with her DADA professor. Not wanting to admit to herself that she might be attracted to him, she was convinced that she just wanted to be prepared in case someone attempted to take Lord Voldemort's place. If she happened to stare at her teacher for longer than normal, well then she was just paying extra close attention. If she stood closer than normal to him when she asked him a question after class, that was just to be sure she didn't miss a word from her soft-spoken teacher. If she felt flushed in the classroom, then that was just because it was so warm in there.

"_I can almost hear you thinking, my clever one. Do you see it now?"_

She did. More than any other class or teacher, Hermione had felt driven to spend extra effort and time on DADA and Professor Lupin. They spoke for hours on subjects and she never felt more at ease than when she was in his presence. "I have been drawn to you this year. All of my friends have teased me and even accused me of trying to learn enough to take your job over after graduation. I would never try to do that, Professor."

_"Moony. Please, right now call me Moony. And I know you could never do anything to hurt us, my little one. We are drawn to each other. It is the way of my kind and it cannot be helped."_

"But, Prof-Moony, I don't understand. That behavior in werewolves is only documented to affect other werewolves. Unless." The pieces began to fall into place and dread settled deep into her stomach.

"_Unless, what? Have you figured it out?"_

Hermione nodded slowly. "Unless the human was the werewolf's mate."

"_Yes, you have solved it. You are so clever, my dear one." _Moony found an open gash on her arm and began to lick it clean.

"But – how can it be me? How can I be your mate? We've this isn't the first time we've met, why has this only started now?" With everything she knew about werewolves and their mates, her options were limited. Once the mate was found, a werewolf would not, could not allow their human side to take another lover. The human mate could deny the bond, but that would mean that the werewolf would be alone for the rest of their life. Could she doom her professor to a live alone?

"We are only able to sense our mates once they become of age. It can be a miserable experience for us if we are not accepted by our mates; it is a small gift for our kind that it does not trigger until adulthood. If we find partners before finding our mates, then we do not feel the pull as badly. We can resist if we are happy with them."

Tears formed in Hermione's eyes. Professor Lupin had been happy with Tonks, but the war took her away from him. "Oh, Moony, I'm so sorry. If Tonks hadn't been killed, we wouldn't be having to suffer through this right now."

"Shh, my little one. Our heart aches for our lost one, but they were not unaware of what could happen. Love knows no bounds and cannot be restrained, even in times of war. Although he does not admit it to himself, he is ready to live again. He cannot hide away forever."

Moony moved down towards Hermione's legs and nudged her right leg with his paw. A white-hot pain shot through Hermione and she was unable to withhold her cry. More gently than before, he lowered his snout down to search for signs of bleeding. A ragged piece of glass from a shattered jar was jutting out of the inside of her thigh.

"_My dear one, there is some glass here that I need for you to pull out. I will be able to seal the wound, but only after that is removed. Please sit up very slowly._"

Doing as Moony requested, Hermione slowly put her now healed palms on the floor and pushed herself up slowly. She accidentally put pressure down on her leg and winced in pain.

"_Careful, careful, please my little one._" Moony's voice sounded as pained as she felt. He was suffering right along with her.

She leaned over and got a look at the glass embedded in her leg. Horrified at what she was about to do, Hermione looked into Moony's eyes and he could see the terror within.

"_It'll be alright. Please trust me, my young one. Once this is gone, I will be able to heal you. We will always be there to heal you._" Moony leaned in and swiped his giant tongue across her cheek, taking her tears away. "_Be strong, I know you have such strength in you._"

Bolstered by his words and the innate knowledge that he would not let her down, Hermione dug down deep and found a reservoir of courage. Grasping the glass in her left hand, she pulled with all her strength to avoid dragging out the suffering.

The pain in her leg was unbearable. Hermione fell back down crying and trying very hard not to trash her leg about. "Please tell me I got it all. I could not stand to do that a second time."

Moony examined the area once again, sniffing carefully for any scents that did not belong to his dear one. "_You have gotten it all, my brave one. I am so proud of you. Now lay back and rest, I will tend to your wounds_."

Calmed by his words, she took a deep breath and let him do what he could to help her. All of her other cuts were feeling much better as a result of his attention and this was the last wound to be healed. Perhaps soon they would be able to talk more about the bond between them.

Moony dragged his tongue along the wound on the inside of her thigh. Already the blood was starting to clot and the redness was going down. It would take just a little more and she would be healed.

The pain in her right leg had reduced dramatically since Moony had started. Now that the wound dealt with, she was able to focus and see if she was hurt anywhere else. His fur brushed against the inside of her left leg and Hermione couldn't help but giggle.

"_Is there something wrong, my little one? This wound is almost healed._"

"No, no. I am okay. I just – I laughed because your fur tickled my other leg. It must be a good sign if I am not focusing on the pain." Hermione smiled at Moony to show that everything really was all right.

Moony ducked his head back down and began once again to lick the cut. His fur still danced across her skin and raised goose bumps, but Hermione withheld any further giggles to avoid distracting him. Pulling his head up to examine the wound, Moony spotted some additional blood and began to clean that as well.

Hermione no longer felt like laughing. His tongue, Moony's tongue was working its way up her thigh and it felt glorious. Instead of giggles, she instead had to repress a moan as he used his snout to prompt her to pull up her leg so that he could lick underneath.

Disturbed by what she was feeling, but unable to control it, Hermione chanted to herself: "I am not getting aroused. This is not exciting to me. This is a werewolf and I am not getting aroused by this situation."

The internal chants were not working. Moony had moved on to her left leg to make sure the blood there was just residue and not from an open wound. Hermione started picturing all of the most undesirable things she could think of. Filch in a woman's bathing suit, Peeves and the Bloody Baron snogging, Neville's boggart of Professor Snape dressed as Grandmother Longbottom – nothing was able to distract her from the sensation of the hot, wet, rough tongue that was now at the inside of her left thigh.

Moony was a very happy werewolf at the moment. He had healed his mate and now she was feeling pleasure from him. He knew that if he stopped, she might protest, so he continued to sniff and lick the inside of his dear one's thighs. Her scent was growing and her heart rate was beginning to climb once again. If this was rushed, she might protest, Moony knew he had to work her up to it. His little mate could be skittish.

The pain gone, Hermione focused now only on the feel of Moony's tongue across her skin. No longer concerned about what was right or wrong, she only was dealing with what felt right and good. This felt right and it certainly felt good. His was pushing higher up her leg and licked her leg right underneath the line of her knickers. There was no stopping the moan from her mouth when his nose bumped into clit.

"_My dear one, please. Do not deny me the pleasure of your taste."_ Moony wanted to coax his mate into agreement; he would never force her but he would make it very difficult for her to say no.

"I…"

"_Please, I can feel that you are aching. Let me soothe you." _He worked his tongue from bottom of her thigh to the top, repeating on the other side, hoping that he could convince her to let him continue.

Every moment Hermione had spent with Professor Remus ran through her head at that instant. Every feeling, smile, discussion, look and touch was analyzed. Hermione could no longer deny her love for her professor, nor the way his werewolf side was making her feel at this moment. Moony would never hurt her, his mate.

"Yes, please Moony. I want you to." She spoke in a whisper, but he could hear her all the same. His heart began to race at her acceptance. His mate, his dear one, she was accepting him. He would make certain she would never change her mind.

Moony reached up a paw and used one of his claws to carefully slice apart the sides of Hermione's knickers. Pulling those out the way with his mouth he was presented with the loveliest sight in the world, his mate quivering and wet and all for him.

Once his tongue touched her tender flesh, Hermione was rendered incapable of speech. He lapped and licked, trusting his tongue deep inside of her, working it around and over her clit and back again. He even worked further down and Hermione was shouting out in unexpected pleasure.

"_I will deny you nothing, my dear one. I will only bring you pleasure_." His voice was thick with desire and it only served to amplify her passion.

Hermione found herself on the edge and started pleading with him. "Please, Moony. Please, it feels so good."

He worked at her with renewed vigor. His tongue danced across her center, he nipped at the apex of her thighs and then at her clit. She tensed and then just let go. His mate, his dear one was beautiful in release. She panted his name and tugged at his fur. No one else could ever have her - he would ensure it. This loveliness was for him alone.

"_My dear one, please do not deny me this. I need to mark you. Now, before the sun rises and my other side tries to deny our connection." _His voice now rang of desperation. Hermione and Moony could not deny the bond between them, but Professor Lupin might still try to run away.

"I'm scared. Please, I do love Professor Lupin, but I do not want –"

"_You do not want to become the wolf, is that right my little one?"_

"I'm sorry Moony. I just, I cannot." Hermione's eyes filled with tears and she sat up to wrap him in her arms. "I do not want to lose you, but I am so frightened."

"_Stay close to me, dear one. There is a way. Once the transformation reverts, I will have control of the human body for a small amount of time. I will still be able to mark you then and you will not change in the full moon."_

"But won't Professor Lupin still try to run away after he wakes up in the morning? Won't he hate us both for forcing this on him?" Hermione was terrified that Professor Lupin might be angry at her for taking advantage of the situation. He appeared to have made peace with his other nature and she could see him resenting her for doing this without his permission.

"_Once you are marked, he will understand. There is no danger in him being upset or leaving you, my sweet one. Trust me in this as you have trusted me all night._"

Hermione nodded her agreement. The young woman and werewolf sat side by side, looking out the window, waiting for the sun to rise. At the first blush of color in the sky, Moony began to shake and howl. Hermione stayed as close as she dared. Their window of opportunity was short and if they missed it, there would likely not be a second chance.

Finally, the cracking of bones stopped and his fur and nails retracted back. Hermione threw herself at Remus with the golden eyes and bared her neck to him.

"I trust you."

"Thank you, our dear one" he spoke aloud. Moony clutched her and sank his teeth into her tender flesh. His mate cried out, but once again he used his tongue to soothe her pain. Without her seeing, his eyes changed from gold to brown, but Remus did not immediately stop licking her wound. Once her bite was healed, he pulled the warm body in his arms even closer to him.

"My dear, what have you done?" His voice was a whisper, but she heard it all the same.

"I could not deny you. Please do not be upset with me or with Moony, Professor." Hermione's voice trembled with fear. In her mind, She prayed and pleaded that he would not reject her.

"How could I turn you away, my perfect one?" He responded to the unspoken pleas.

"How did you know what I was thinking?" She pulled back enough to be able to look him in the eyes. Her beloved professor looked back at her, his eyes dancing with amusement.

"I believe Moony said earlier that I could not read your mind at that time. I am able to now, but only in times of great distress."

"The bonding did this?"

"The bonding did that and more." Remus took Hermione's face in his hands and pulled her in for a kiss. Their lips and tongues met and slid together. Hermione wrapped her hands in Remus's hair and he pulled her up against his chest. They clung to each other as they finally got to express the passion they had both been repressing for far too long.

"I do not know what will happen to us, Hermione. But I will not give you up." His arms around her tightened as if someone was going to snatch her away that very second.

"Well, Professor – "

"Remus, please call me Remus now, my dear one."

"Well, Remus, we are two very clever individuals. I am sure that we will be able to handle anything that might be thrown in our path." The smile on Hermione's face was radiant, this was the happiest she had ever been.

"Now that I do not doubt." Remus' smile rivaled the one on his beloved's face.

Hermione looked her mate in the eyes. "I love you, Remus."

"And I love you, Hermione." He pulled her up off of the floor and gathered her discarded articles of clothing.

"Now, please come with me up to the office, my clever one. I need your help in crafting a proper thank you card for Professor Slughorn."

The End


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